In her upcoming book Simple Country Living: Techniques, Recipes, and Wisdom for the Garden, Kitchen, and Beyond (out on March 26, 2024), Annette Thurmon takes readers behind the scenes at her homestead on Azure Farm in Georgia. Gardening tips and family-favourite recipes fill the pages, as to how-tos for seasonal activities – like dyeing Easter eggs. Thurmon uses ingredients she already has on hand to naturally dye white and brown eggs in beautiful springtime colours, and the eggs can be eaten or displayed (see the note at the bottom for instructions on enjoying safely).
Naturally-Dyed Easter Eggs
Annette Thurmon's instructions for naturally-dying Easter eggs with natural ingredients like tea and onion skins.
Equipment
- large stockpot
- ingredients for one colour of your choice
- water to cover all of the ingredients being used
- fine-mesh strainer
- baking dish or another container
- ¼ cup (60 ml) white distilled vinegar
- paper towels
Ingredients
- 12 white or brown unpeeled hard-boiled eggs at room temperature (do not use raw eggs)
Colour Variations
- 4 cups (360 g) chopped purple cabbage to produce blue on white eggs or green on brown eggs
- 4 cups (4 g) red onion skins to produce lavender on white eggs or red on brown eggs
- 4 cups (4 g) yellow onion skins to produce orange on white eggs or rusty red on brown eggs.
- 4 cups (900 g) shredded beets to produce pink on white eggs or maroon on brown eggs
- ½ cup (54 g) ground turmeric to produce yellow on white eggs
- 4 standard-size tea bags of pure hibiscus tea to produce lavender on white eggs
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, place the ingredient for the colour you want and add enough water to cover it by 1 inch (2.5 cm).
- Bring this to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-high. You want the water to stay lively without boiling over.
- Boil for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom.
- Let everything cool to room temperature, then pour it through a strainer and into a deep baking dish. Discard the boiled material.
- Add ¼ cup (60 ml) of vinegar to the dye.
- Add the eggs to the dye, taking care not to crack them.
- Leave the eggs in for at least 1 to 2 hours and up to 24 hours, because they will not darken right away. You can take some out at different times. I usually keep some in for 1 to 2 hours, some for 3 to 4, and some for the whole 24 hours.
- As you remove each egg, pat it dry with a paper towel. The colours, especially the deep blues, will continue to develop.
Notes
If you want to eat the eggs that you dyed for just 1 or 2 hours, make sure to refrigerate them immediately after you remove them from the dye. It’s also a good idea to refrigerate the others when they are not being displayed, because they are hard-boiled. If you’ve let the eggs sit in the dye for more than 2 hours, you probably shouldn’t eat them, as bacteria could have started to develop. If displaying the eggs, you can keep them in the refrigerator until it’s time to display them.
